In a 4G wireless communications system such as a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) compliant communications system, after a regular enhanced NodeB (eNB), which is also known as a base station (BS), is deployed, the operator of the communications system may wish to optimize the cell coverage and performance provided by the eNB equipment by conducting tests that only involve testing user equipments (UEs) and the eNB. The testing UEs can record testing data and thereby helps to identify potential problems. Therefore, the testing UE should be allowed to camp on, to access, and to receive services from the testing eNB (i.e., the eNB operating in a test mode of operation) as a regular UE camps on, accesses, and receives services from a regular eNB. After the testing and optimization is complete, the operator may turn the testing eNB to a regular eNB (i.e., place the testing eNB into a normal mode of operation) in order to provide commercial services.
During testing, it may be desirable to prevent a regular UE from impacting the testing or otherwise creating un-desirable network traffic at the testing eNB. For example, if an idle regular UE camps on the testing eNB, when the communications system wants to page the idle regular UE due to an incoming call, the communications system will create undesirable paging traffic at the testing eNB. For another example, if a neighboring eNB that is operating in a normal mode of operations tries to handover an active regular UE to the testing eNB, although the testing eNB is capable of rejecting the handover request, the handover attempt still creates un-desirable backhaul signaling for the testing eNB.
Furthermore, in an emergency situation, it may be desirable to only allow certain emergency personnel to have access to a communication system while the communication system automatically blocks all communications with all regular end users except when a regular end user originates an emergency, e.g., a 911, E911, or so on, call using his or her regular UE in the communication system. The exception is aimed to allow the victims of the emergency situation to call for help.